Holding during sparring

[axispower]

So what's your opinion on grabbing and holding during point sparring? Some tournament circuits allow a 2 or 3 second controlled grab. For example, if your opponent sticks his leg out there you can grab and hold it for 2 - 3 seconds as long as you don't force him/her to the ground in doing so.

A technique I used to see used a lot (and this is why a lot of veteran point sparring competitors prefer short sleeve gi tops or keep their sleeves rolled up tightly) is to grab the other person's sleeve and pull him/her toward you while you punch.

Another old trick is to simply trap the other person's arm under yours, then pound them soundly before they figure out why they can's get loose.

Anyway, lots of ways to grab and hold - many of them legal in some tournaments - illegal in others. Thoughts?

[bushido_man96]

In the TKD tournaments that I have been to, grabs and holds have not been allowed. The one we might get away with is hooking the foot on a side kick, and then winging it away to yank them off balance.

I would like to spar sometime with those kinds of rules, just to shake things up a bit.

[tallgeese]

Not much of a point guy, but anytime you can add any level of realism it's a good thing.

[white owl]

I have a bad habit of hooking kicks but they always give the point to the other competitor even though they never score a hit on my sides just my arms from me catching it. which I was always under the understanding arms are not a point.

[joesteph]

The sparring we've done in my classes are non-contact, which includes not grabbing/holding. However, when I've used open hand, which is my preferred "active" block (with my "on guard" stance, there's nothing coming through to call it blocking), it's usually against a kick, and sometimes I wind up catching the kick. I've been reminded not to do this, that it's considered contact, and I've tried using fists for punching and also blocking--no open hand. But I've had the kick caught in the scooping motion that's ingrained in me from open hand. Without trying for it, I've had a few times that the leg got trapped.

I can see a time limit of two-three seconds to let go, either because you've demonstrated your ability, or it was really just an accidental snag.

[Daisho]

I have very little experience in point fighting, but I would figure that letting an opponent hold another would take away the striking from point fighting.

If someone grabs your gi sleeve I would figure the person being held is going to step inside and grab the gi, or instinctively go for a throw.

I guess if the two combatants are trained in striking only schools, allowing holding would be ok, since both are likely to attempt to strike even while being held/doing the holding.

But if any grappling is trained in the system, i would think that being held would instinctively lead to immediately being thrown or swept

[joesteph]

So what's your opinion on grabbing and holding during point sparring? . . . For example, if your opponent sticks his leg out there you can grab and hold it for 2 - 3 seconds . . .

The sparring we've done in my classes are non-contact, which includes not grabbing/holding.

I'm assuming you mean contact point sparring, Axispower. If it's non-contact, you can't allow a kick in particular to be grabbed.

The apex of the kick comes short of your opponent, from one to several inches, often the latter. There's a pause, whether for a split-second or call it a nanosecond, as you switch gears to retract your kick. That's post-apex, and that's when the late blocker (he may not even realize his timing) or grabber consciously grabs your leg. You, the kicker, followed the rules of no contact, and so you're actually vulnerable post-apex.

If you didn't follow the rules, there would have been impact, meaning burying your foot in his gut at the apex of the kick, something he's far less likely to grab after being struck. (Not impossible, as a [beefier?] Muay Thai fighter might take a roundhouse to the obliques [ouch!] and then trap the kick.) I'd say someone grabbing your kick pre-apex, i.e., on its way to the target, but who does neither a redirect nor a sidestep out of the way, is going to be holding your leg while it hits home.

I sparred non-contact with a white belt last class, and what I like about him is that he's also in his fifties--plus, the guy's face lit up when we sparred. During a sparring session, I have to remember the difference in levels we're at, so I'm not going to try a flurry or crash into him (a non-contact trick, especially if you're shorter and want to infight); however, he was grabbing (likely thinking he's "catching") my front kicks at the start of retraction--i.e., post-apex. We're simply told the tournament rules, that there's no grabbing, that grabbing is contact, but I think that just saying it works better with kids (who accept rules w/o analyzing why).

I didn't even say anything to him, and wound up figuring out what to do if my kick is grabbed. The next sparring session, perhaps it'll be noticed by our teacher, or his partner will say something to him.

[Alex86]

Hmm, the style of sparring I've always done does not allow holding, but you could get away with "cupping" a side kick to redirect it.

[ps1]

It's a great move as well as very realistic for fighting. As long as there is some semblance of control...I wish it was legal in all forms of sparring tournaments.

Further, I like the tourneys where you can perform a takedown as long as it's followed by a strike attempt.

[bushido_man96]

I read an article in Black Belt Magazine from March '09, and in it was John Fonseca, showing some of his Karate-match strategies, which including holding and sweeping several of them. I really liked what he had to say, and I liked his combinations and set-ups, too. I think fighting that way from time to time would be a good way to shake things up in class.